Metropolitan Remand Centre

Story

The Metropolitan Remand Centre is an Australian prison located at Ravenhall, Victoria, approximately 20 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD on the Western Freeway . The prison is a maximum security remand facility which opened in April 2006 and is operated by the Victorian Department of Justice and Regulation.The majority of MRC's inmates are held awaiting the outcome of their court case, some inmates have been sentenced and are waiting for appeals to be heard and a small number are sentenced prisoners transferred to free up beds at HM Melbourne Assessment Prison.AccommodationAccommodation consists of four 75-bed general units, one 100-bed protection unit, 200 beds in various units allocated for special needs such as vulnerable or young adult prisoners and a 13-bed management unit.Two new units were built and commissioned in late 2014.The protection unit is divided into 3 areas which are separated by the officer's post. Being located centrally, officers can monitor activities in each area at a glance.IncidentsOn 30 June 2015, prisoners at the centre rioted, the day before the implementation of a smoking ban across all prisons in Victoria. Inmates attacked guards, broke into a control room, lit fires and rammed doors. Corrections Victoria locked down all Victorian prisons as the Victoria Police Special Operations Group and Tactical Response Unit entered the MRC to regain control of the facility.